Apr172013

Legacy Browser, Cloud-based Management Added to Chrome for Business

Two new features for Chrome for Business now making it easier for companies everywhere to choose Chrome at work.

First of all, new “Legacy Browser Suppor” lets IT administrator configure Chrome to automatically launch an alternate browser when a user run a web application built for older browsers. “If you want to use Chrome at work but rely on some older apps, you can now switch seamlessly between two browsers,” informs Google.

“IT managers simply define which sites should launch from Chrome into an alternate browser, and then set this Chrome policy for all employees. And while Chrome Frame helps developers build apps for older browsers, Legacy Browser Support lets IT admins of organizations embrace the modern web,” explains Google.

Secondly, new “cloud-based management of Chrome for Google Apps for Business and Education” lets administrator now easily set up default apps, browser themes, bookmarks, and more than 100 other settings to sync across all employees’ computers.

Now, whether employees are working from the company’s desktop or their personal laptop, “they will be able to access default applications, custom themes, or a curated app web store when they sign-in to Chrome with their work account,” Google writes.

Update 04/18: Google had in December 2012, disabled “silent extension installation by default” with Chrome (version 25 and beyond)–now to further safeguard, Google has recently added new measures o identify software that violates Chrome’s standard mechanisms for deploying extensions, flagging such binaries as malware.

“Within a week, you will start seeing Safe Browsing malicious download warnings when attempting to download malware identified by this criteria,” informs Google.

“This kind of malware commonly tries to get around silent installation blockers by misusing Chrome’s central management settings that are intended be used to configure instances of Chrome internally within an organization. In doing so, the installed extensions are enabled by default and cannot be uninstalled or disabled by the user from within Chrome. Other variants include binaries that directly manipulate Chrome preferences in order to silently install and enable extensions bundled with these binaries,” explains Google.

In other news, the Admin panel update now brings cloud-based management for users on personal computers and devices for Google Apps for Business and Education customers.

It also adds a new user setting for Chrome Web Store Permissions.

Google Apps for Business, Education and Government admins can now deploy Chrome while supporting older web apps through Legacy Browser Support.

Google has also launched a new way to showcase app’s specialized for Android tablet layouts. “You’re now able to upload screenshots of your app running on 7″ and 10″ tablets to the Google Play Developer Console, and those screenshots are shown preferentially in Google Play to users on those devices,” explains Google.

Additonally, Google has also updated tablet app quality checklist, with additional tips and guidelines, as well as more details on specific technical checks should the devs perform to ensure their app is correctly optimized for tablets.

Update 04/26: Google introducing a new Optimization Tips page in the Google Play Developer Console that lets you quickly see how your app is doing against basic guidelines for tablet app distribution and quality.

“When you upload an app, the Developer Console now runs a series of checks to verify basic criteria from the Tablet App Quality Checklist and shows you any issues it finds in the Optimization Tips page,” explains Android dev team.

If you’re developing for tablets, make sure to visit your Optimization Tips page to ensure that your app is delivering a great tablet experience.

Deepak Gupta is a IT & Web Consultant. He is the founder and CEO of diTii.com & DIT Technologies, where he's engaged in providing Technology Consultancy, Design and Development of Desktop, Web and Mobile applications using various tools and softwares. Sign-up for the Email for daily updates. Google+ Profile.